{"id":2601879,"date":"2026-05-12T18:30:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-split-on-suspending-federal-gas-tax-despite-trump-backing\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T18:33:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:33:13","slug":"gop-split-on-suspending-federal-gas-tax-despite-trump-backing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-split-on-suspending-federal-gas-tax-despite-trump-backing\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP split on suspending federal gas tax despite Trump backing"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgop-split-on-suspending-federal-gas-tax-despite-trump-backing%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2601879&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Republicans are increasingly discussing whether to suspend federal gas taxes after President Donald Trump endorsed a temporary pause until conditions are \u201cappropriate.\u201d While some GOP lawmakers see it as a potential way to ease gas prices-currently driven up as Iran-linked conflict has affected shipping through the Strait of Hormuz-others are cautious. House Speaker Mike Johnson called the idea \u201cintriguing\u201d but saeid he isn\u2019t committed to bringing it to a vote, warning about unintended consequences. Senate Majority Leader john Thune said a pause would create a major gap in the Highway Trust Fund and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >cited significant projected costs<\/a> without offsets.<\/p>\n<p>Several senators offered alternatives or different priorities, including expanding energy production and changing fuel policies such as increasing access to E-15 and removing requirements to switch between gasoline blends by season. Senators also emphasized that reopening the Strait of hormuz is key to lowering prices. After Trump\u2019s endorsement, GOP Sen. Josh Hawley and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna pledged legislation to suspend federal gasoline and diesel excise taxes for 90 days (with an option to extend), joining Democrats-who previously introduced a plan to temporarily suspend the gas tax through fall-for voter relief.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republicans\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"240\">Republicans<\/a> are hedging throwing support behind suspending federal <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gas\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1487\">gas<\/a> taxes, despite President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> backing the idea.<\/p>\n<p>Trump said on Monday he supported suspending the tax \u201cuntil it\u2019s appropriate,\u201d in an effort to provide voters with relief from spiking gas prices due to the closure of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/strait-of-hormuz\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"21488\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a> amid the Iran war.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4565480\/republicans-split-federal-gas-tax-trump-backing\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Republicans split on suspending <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-debate-future-infrastructure-bills\/\" title=\"Lawmakers debate future infrastructure bills\">federal gas tax<\/a> despite Trump backing<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4564596\/hakeem-jeffries-jen-kiggans-cotton-picking-remark-radio-show\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Jeffries condemns Virginia Republican over agreement with \u2018cotton-picking\u2019 remark<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4564512\/problem-solvers-caucus-endorses-pathway-legal-status-millions-illegal-immigrants\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Problem Solvers Caucus endorses pathway to legal status for millions of illegal immigrants<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>However, a federal gas tax pause would require congressional approval, and not all Republicans are convinced about the move. <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called a temporary pause an \u201cintriguing idea,\u201d but told reporters that he wasn\u2019t ready to confirm it would come to the House floor for a vote. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, you have to look at any unintended consequences and evaluate all that,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cSo I\u2019m not yet ready to project it, but I certainly find it to be an intriguing idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt may help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters that anytime the gas tax is paused, a \u201cbig hole\u201d is left in the Highway Trust Fund, which finances improvements to road and transit projects.<\/p>\n<p>The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget projected in March that suspending the gas tax for one month would cost the federal government $3.5 billion, while a six-month pause would cost about $21 billion if there are no offsets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve not in the past, obviously, been a fan of that idea,\u201d Thune said. \u201cBut I know I\u2019ve got some colleagues out there who think it\u2019s a good idea, and so we\u2019ll hear them out. I think right now, the best thing that can happen for gas prices is for the strait to get opened up again, the shipping lanes get opened up again. That\u2019ll normalize gas prices as much as anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), meanwhile, said Congress should be focusing on energy production instead, particularly approving the year-round sale of the ethanol-blended gasoline known as E-15. <\/p>\n<p>Rounds argued that expanding access to E-15 could save \u201canywhere from 15 to 30 cents a gallon.\u201d The South Dakota Republican also urged Congress to eliminate the requirement to switch between winter and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gasoline-prices-surge-in-january\/\" title=\"...oline ... Surge in January\">summer gasoline blends<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat would save our consumers money as well,\u201d Rounds said.<\/p>\n<p>Federal excise taxes are 18.4 cents per gallon on gas and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), while saying he would look at a short-term expansion, said the \u201creal key\u201d to lowering gas prices would be reopening the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s going to bring prices down,\u201d Hoeven said.<\/p>\n<p>Following Trump\u2019s backing of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-newsom-shows-support-for-higher-gas-taxes\/\" title=\"Gov. Newsom shows support for higher ...es\">gas tax holiday<\/a>, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) pledged to introduce legislation to suspend the excise taxes.<\/p>\n<p>Hawley\u2019s bill, titled the Gas Tax Suspension Act, would suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes for 90 days. It would also give Trump the option to extend the suspension for another 90 days if needed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat better way to make gas more affordable?\u201d Hawley told reporters Tuesday. \u201cDiesel too. I can\u2019t emphasize enough. Diesel is vital to farmers. We should do holidays for both.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Democrats have similarly pushed for a temporary pause to the federal gas tax. Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) introduced legislation in March to suspend the gas tax until October to provide voters relief.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArizona families shouldn\u2019t pay the price for Donald Trump\u2019s bad decisions,\u201d Kelly said in a statement announcing the bill. \u201cSuspending the federal gas tax would help bring prices down and give families some much needed relief.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gas prices have soared since the start of the Iran war due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, reaching a national average of $4.55 last week, according to AAA. The price is the highest it has been since 2022, when the national average jumped to $5.01 per gallon.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/4563167\/gas-tax-pause-momentum-trump-hawley-luna\/\"><strong>GOP MOMENTUM GROWING FOR SUSPENDING GASOLINE TAX AFTER TRUMP\u2019S ENDORSEMENT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Johnson conceded earlier Tuesday that the spike in gas prices was a \u201cconcern for everybody.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I\u2019m confident we\u2019ll be able to bring those prices down as soon as we get the Strait of Hormuz straightened out,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re bullish about that.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republicans weigh support for suspending federal gas taxes after Trump backs it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4281,"featured_media":2601880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-collage-5g4r54gdi-1778622652954-e1778623342920.jpg?1778608986&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[46246,62779,6203,44964,3634],"class_list":["post-2601879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-federal-spending","tag-gas-tax","tag-gop","tag-political-divisions","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-collage-5g4r54gdi-1778622652954-e1778623342920.jpg?1778608986&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2601879"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2601883,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601879\/revisions\/2601883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2601880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2601879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2601879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2601879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}